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Jan 5, 2008 1:43 pm US/Central
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Farmers Learn Leadership Through Intensive Program
(WCCO)
We've seen Greg Schwarz walk his field in winter, plant seed in spring and harvest the crop in fall. That's what you expect farmers to do, but Schwarz does the unexpected, too -- he leaves home to learn about leadership.
He's part of an elite group of farmers and rural business folks chosen to participate in MARL, the Minnesota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Program. It's a privately funded project co-sponsored by Southwest Minnesota State and the University of Minnesota.
It's still dark when Schwarz and other members of MARL leave a Rochester hotel and get on the bus. It's day two of their three-day December session, and they won't stop until late tonight. Over a two-year period, MARL participants will attend nine sessions like this taking them away from families and farms.
"It's a large commitment," Schwarz said. "I have a neighbor who takes care of the livestock end of the farm, and my wife takes care of the family end of the farm."
The MARL class will also spend a week in Washington and another two on an international trip. In February, this MARL class goes to South Africa, but today they're touring southern Minnesota.
First stop is a big dairy operation in Lewiston. There they see cows riding a milking carousel. The "dairy-go-round" operates all day and all night. The next stop for the MARL class is much less modern, an Amish cabinetry shop in Utica, Minn.
MARL isn't just about showing up for the sessions. These participants have to read a lot too -- business titles such as "Good to Great," "The World is Flat," and "Who Moved My Cheese?" And they don't just read the books. They stand up in front of the group and explain them while riding a bus going 70 miles per hour.
"We vote to decide who gave the best report, and that winner gets some fantastic prize," said Paul Torkelson, farmer and MARL participant. "I won a coffee mug the first time around."
As you might expect from farm folks, they tell it like it is.
"John Gardner was a good leader. He was a better leader than he was a writer, in my estimation, though," one participant said, provoking laughter from the crowd.
Since the MARL members spend their own time and money to take part in the program, it's little surprise they take it seriously.
"(You learn) how to be a leader, how to be involved in the community, how to be involved in government," said Cam Fanfulik, an economic development planner from Warren, Minn.
"Once you're committed to it, you're in with both feet, and you better make the most of it," said Schwarz.
At Hormel's SPAM museum, they get a break and a reminder of why they shouldn't quit their day jobs. Racing against a clock, they try to pack play versions of the famous food. Packing SPAM is harder than it looks.
Soon they're back on the bus where there's more learning to do. The hardest work is ahead after this field trip is over.
"When we get home from a three-day session," said Schwarz. "You better be willing to pick up the slack at home, because it's your turn."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)